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English Vocabulary > Week 8 > Flashcards

Week 8 Flashcards

0
Q

a watched pot never boils

A

when you want something to happen quickly, it seems to take a long time

// - I have been waiting forever for my vacation
- Yes, a watched pot never boils
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1
Q

easier said than done

A

speaking is easier than doing

// Surfing is easier said than done

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2
Q

under the wire

A

just in time

// Many students get to school under the wire

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3
Q

toasty warm

A

pleasantly warm

// In the winter we want our home pleasantly warm

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4
Q

watch your step

A

be careful where you walk

// On the escalator, please watch your step

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5
Q

wear off

A

to gradually disappear

// My headaches are wearing off

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6
Q

what’s keeping you?

A

why are you so slow?

// You are late. what’s keeping you?

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7
Q

a white elephant

A

something beautiful, but useless and expensive to maintain

// my grandma gave me a silver tea pot, which is a white elephant

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8
Q

to heat up

A

stronger, more intense, more angry

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9
Q

Blei

A

lead

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10
Q

out of place

A

not belong somewhere

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11
Q

turn sth. INTO sth.

A

make fish into sushi

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12
Q

arguing

A

fight ABOUT/OVER

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13
Q

to fix sth up

A

to fix, to bring someone/something together

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14
Q

to have a vested interest in something

A

to have a personal or a business interest in something

// I have a vested interest in going to Italy

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15
Q

have an axe to grind

A

to have something to complain about

// You have to go to the teacher after class. You have an axe yo grind

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16
Q

have a weakness for someone or something

A

to be unable to resist something, to have a fondness for something

// I have a weakness for chocolate.

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17
Q

to have dibs on something

A

to save something or to reserve something

// Hey, I have dibs on this chair

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18
Q

dibs!

A

that’s mine!

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19
Q

to have mixed feeling

A

to have negative AND positive emotions

// - How was the movie?
- Oh, I have mixed feelings about it
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20
Q

to have money to burn

A

to have a lot of money, be rich

  • When you win the lottery you will have money to burn
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21
Q

have your cake and eat it too

A

use something and still have it - usually used with “can’t”

// If you stay up late, you can’t expect to feel great in the morning. you can’t have your cake and eat it too

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22
Q

wake-up call

A

an alarm, a warning

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23
Q

famine

A

a time of no food

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24
a time of no water
drought (draut)
25
to blast
states very angry, intense
26
defiant
refusal to accept sth.
27
refusal
saying/state/acting that you won't to anything
28
to defy
not to something you should do
29
defunc
not working, not in use | defankt
30
it's on the tip of my tongue
i can't quite think of something // I know this name of the actor, uhm, it's on the tip of my tongue
31
main thing you live from
to live on
32
make the grade
to be satisfactort, to be what is expected // I need to make the grade to get into the university and the standard is very high
33
make waves / rock the boat
to make trouble // When you get a new job, you should probably not make waves
34
man in the street
an ordinary person (Slang: Joe Sixpack = blue collar worker) // TV likes to do man in the street (woman in the street) interviews on controverse subjects
35
mean to do something
intend to do something ``` // I always mean to clean, but I rately do I'm mean to do my atudies, but instead I'm going to the club ```
36
Money is the root of all evil
all bad thing are cause by money!
37
money talks
money gets things done, gives power // She got a bad grade, but her father solved this problem. Money talks
38
nail someone or something down
finalize, make final plans // Did you nail down our plans for the weekend?
39
neck and neck
exactly even, on the same position // The two horses were neck and neck until the last few feet ( l l )
40
blue collar worker
factory or manual laborer
41
pink collar worker
hairdresser, waitress
42
white collar worker
office, professional worker
43
a big rig (slang)
a big truck, a semi-truck
44
in turmoil
trouble, upset
45
arms
weapons
46
to stave off
to keep away
47
relinquish
give up, quit
48
MS river
Mississippi
49
premiums
costs, fees for insurances
50
one foot
1/3 meter
51
delve INTO
to search, find out
52
demoted from ... to ...
given a lower position. From a higher position, to a lower position
53
detached FROM
not attached, separated FROM
54
die OF/from
to die bcz of sth.
55
endangered animals
animals who are dying out
56
off the hook
no responsibility, out of trouble // Ny teacher canceled the test. I'm off the hook
57
an old hand
an experienced person // My boss is an old hand. He has been here for 20 years
58
on a roll
having a lot if success or making progress ``` // I'm on a roll today. I booked my vacaton, finished my thesis and completed everything at work ```
59
on a tight leash
under careful supervision or control // Parents need to keep children on a tight leash
60
leash
to "carry" a dog, on a surfboard
61
in its last legs
about to break or stop working // My car is very old. Its on his last legs
62
on the back burner
not a top priority // This project is now in the back burner
63
on the safe side
taking extra precautions // Just to be on the safe side, but special insurance if you drive to Mexico
64
out of the picture
no longer involved or no longer important // My ex boyfriend is out of the picture
65
to be handcuff
hands are fastened together by handcuffs
66
insight
insights view, personal understanding, learning sth. new
67
to degenerate
fall apart, loss control
68
to brief
to summarize, tell in a short way
69
convoy
group of vehicles
70
ground to a halt
idiom: to slowly stop
71
disguise
to hide
72
to shrink
get smaller
73
recession
period decreasing economy Rezession
74
to lay off
lose job bcz of no work
75
slough (slew), bog, swamp
a very wet area in land, usually full of animals
76
a vicious circle
dog bites his own tail
77
vicious
very angry, not good
78
relieve FROM/ON
to get rid of something, eliminate
79
remind OF / ABOUT
to remember sth.
80
report in
keep in touch, give information in
81
research ON/ABOUT sth
to research sth.
82
pay through the nose OR pay an arm and a leg
pay too much or tp pay a premium price // During the summer tourists pay through the nose for a hotel room.
83
penny wise and pound foolish
being frugal (careful about money) about small things, but wasteful about large ones // She worries about the price if coffee, but she bought a new car without shopping around. She is penny wise and pound foolish
84
frugal
very careful with money, time
85
perk (sb sth) up
to make cheerful or alert ``` // When the boss started talking about vacation, every one perked up ``` // I put water on the flowers and they perked up immediately
86
shopping around
compare prices
87
perk up
become alive again
88
i need coffee to perk up
To "become alive" with coffee
89
pick and choose
to choose carefully from an assortment // When you buy apples, you have to pick and choose
90
assortment
collection, group
91
pick up the tab
pay the bill // Let's go for lunch. the boss is going to pick up the tab
92
pile in
to climb into something in a disorganized way ``` // We're in a hurry. Pile in! // I just piled everything in my suitcase ```
93
tab = tabulation
total count of something
94
die rechnung bitte
can i have the tab, please?
95
underestimate
guess too low
96
a drop in the bucket
a tiny amount compared to the total
97
a drop in the ocean
An veeeeeeery tiny amount compared to the total :)
98
accountability
responsibility
99
militants
not official military, acting like military
100
budget gap
need more money than they have
101
not out of the woods
problem not solved yet
102
activist
active people, working for a cause
103
vigil
a "watch", a peaceful meeting
104
pile up
a multi-car accident // Stay off I (Interstate) -5. There is a pile up in the northbound lanes
105
pitch in
help with something ``` // If we all pitch in, we can clean the house in no time ```
106
traffic jam
back up
107
grind
daily routing OR We grind coffee beans
108
inquire ABOUT
ask ABOUT
109
integrate INTO
joi, get together, integrieren
110
interface WITH
meet WITH, Deal WITH
111
interfere WITH / In (negative meaning)
get involved with

English Vocabulary (16 decks)

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